Doctor Who’s Jodie Whittaker Reveals How The Thirteenth Doctor’s Outfit Was Chosen

Every time Doctor Who casts a new actor for the part of the Doctor, fans can’t wait to find out what they’ll be wearing. The fashion choices of every version of the Time Lord say a lot about what type of character they’ll be and also provide cosplayers with a whole new outfit to copy. For the Thirteenth Doctor, in particular, her costume consists of a rainbow-striped top, cream coat and blue culottes.

So far, it’s been well-received by fans for being feminine yet androgynous, eccentric but practical. But how did the costume come together? Well, Jodie Whittaker revealed to Radio Times that it was very much a collaboration between herself and the show’s costume designer. In fact, the actress even provided the inspiration for the look via an image she found on Google.

“I created my Doctor’s costume with Ray Holman, the costume designer who worked on Broadchurch. I had an initial meeting with him and brought lots of images and bits and pieces that I’d seen. For example, I found an old black-and-white image on Google that spoke to me. It’s of a woman walking with purpose in crop trousers, boots, braces and a T-shirt, and she just looks so comfortable and non-gender specific – that was my style point.”

Whittaker went on to say that, though the image that inspired her was in black and white, she insisted that her Doctor’s outfit be bright and colorful, hence where the rainbow stripe across her T-shirt came from. The actress also explained that she had a lot of fun conceiving of a costume to wear for her character that was completely timeless, as opposed to a typical acting job in which she’s required to wear whatever fashion is appropriate for the period that the production’s set in. In the time-traveling world of Doctor Who, all rules are out the window, it seems.

Some of the most iconic previous Doctor outfits include Tom Baker’s long coat, hat and multi-colored scarf combo, David Tennant’s pinstriped suit and Converse shoes and Matt Smith’s love of tweed jackets and bow ties (which are cool). It’s too early to say whether Jodie Whittaker’s version will rank alongside these in years to come, but we definitely think she’s got a pretty good chance.